Residents of Velsao, a coastal village in South Goa, have opposed a 100plusroom resort planned near the Velsao beach by Saldanha Developers Private Limited, a Goabased realtor, which owns title to the land. The villagers claim that the property lies in a No Development Zone under coastal zone norms and that the state landuse plan classifies the area as an orchard, prohibiting construction. The conflict began when construction at the site commenced in May 2018. In June, the village residents questioned the panchayat for giving construction licence to the project. The panchayat resolved to revoke the licence. A local MLA, Alina Saldanha, has supported the demand to scrap the project. The same month, the Goa Coastal Zone Management Authority issued a stopwork order on the ground that the projects environmental clearance granted by the Union environment ministry has lapsed. It has sent the matter to the ministry for its decision. In July, local fishermen, along with Goenchea Ramponkarancho Ekvott, a statewide network of small fishermen, told the government that the resort will block access to the beach and take away public space used by them to store fishing nets. An official of Saldanha Developers told Land Conflict Watch that the opposition is baseless as a former tenant of the property is spreading misinformation to seek higher compensation. The construction began only after receiving the necessary approvals. Now we are waiting for the governments response as it is looking into the concerns raised by the villagers.